Base and oil reservoir for sewing machines



July 29,1195@ w.-.|. PEETS BASE ANEoIL RESERVOIR RoR SEWING MACHINES yFiled May 11', 195o 2 SHEETS-SHEET l @weine/ July 29, 19%2 w. J. PEI-:Ts BASE AND OIL RESERVOIR FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed May 11, 195o 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 mn/ey,

atented .ul-y 2.9, 1952 BASE ANnoIL nEsERvorRFoR MACHINES vv'iibiir'J. Beets', Watehung,

Singer Manufacturing N.- J incorporation of New Jersey Application Mey 1i,` 195o, serial No; 161,311'v This' invention relates" to' sewing machines; and' more-particularly to lubricant collecting', conductin'g'-, and iiltering means associated'therewith.

Itis well known' that lint and' dust is' deposited inthe neighborhood of the feed-dog and stitching instrumentalities of' a sewing machine'. This is primarily due to' the feed-dog'rubbing'lint from the material being'sewed and to the' handlingy of theV thread b'y the needle, and by thelooper or the hook, depending'on whether the machine is of the" chain-stitch or the lock-stitch type. The various moving-'parts associated'with the feed-dog and the" stitch forming instrumentalities must, of

course, be lubricateda'nd the'A lubricant in the neighborhood ofthe'feed-'do'g and looper or hook, as thecase may be, becomes contaminated with the-'lint and dirt previously mentioned. It is desirable that this excess lubricant be collected, cleaned and returned to the main oil reservoir. Therefore, one of'the primary v'objects 'of 'the' presentfinvention is to provide an improvedl means for-collecting conducting and filtering excess oil that may be thrown 01Tv by mechanisms in the neighborhood of the feed-dogand'stitcli-formingA instrumentalities of a sewing machine.

Another important'object of the invention is to provide anV improved means for collecting, con-` ducting: and filtering oil of a sewing machine,

which-means can readily; be* cleaned-or -replaced withztheiminimum of eiiort andfexpense'.

A further ,object-of the inventionis-to provide anlimpr'oved, and atfthe same time, inexpensive means for collecting, conveying and'l filtering oil nasewingvmachine;

With the above'and other objectsV in view,as` willfh'ereinafter appear,` the invention comprises thedevices, combinations and arrangementsiv of'v partsl hereinafter set forth' and illustrated `in the*A accompanying drawings of alpreferredernbodi-i` ment-eo'f' the invention, from which-the several features 1offtliel invention and theadvantages" a'-t' tained thereby will bereadily understood b'y'those" skllledin'tlie'art: In the `drawingswhich form a Vpartici Vthis specification; I

Fig. 1 is a front el'evationalviewpartly insection,l ofthe bed; base'a'nd oil reservoir'of 'a chainstitchA sewing machine'embodying the presenti in- Vtion Teig; A:z isian enlarged ie'p ypian':View off oiieend l, the "sewing'malchine' 7 claimsi (o1. 11a-1256) `Fig-.f 41s a fragmentary sectional viewtake'i'i-eii thefline'l of'-Fig; 2; and

Fig; 5v is etifragmentary perspective view'of tiief oil' pan with the oil Wick and other 'p'arts"re moved. 1

Thesewing machine inwhich the*presentA invention is embodied',`isjf1illy disclosedin United' Stat'esffatent No. 21,394,510, issued'Febr'liar'y 5, 19461' Therefore," itH Wll'sul'ce' to say that Athe sewingl machine shown" II, affording a horizontally' disp'osedv work-spporting plate I2. Work-supporting plate is removablysecured tothe main portion thereof and theremvable portion 'is' provided .with-aj tl'iro'atfv plate Iii-having a conf ventional `needle hole l 4i'a'nd` s1otsj l 6; the Alatter permitting 'passageof a conventional feed-dog supp'orting'plate I2"`isl af hollow standard l 1- having' formed integral' therewith van 'overhangingz bracket-arm '(not shown) carrying latits lfree end |8`,' which movably supports aeedle-bar I9 having a vneedle 2l", and the head abracket-arm head l 8 also'supports' a-pressei" mechanism f22.

a' rotary looper driving'shaft 23`w'hich, ina wellY known manner, imparts `lengthwise and SideWis" or" more looper'sfafs show'n' atl 241 Othe'mechahsnsof the :sewing machine are" loctedin' theA general area; o'f tlielooper 24, in'

niovenfentsk 1:0- onei cluding a` loo'per 'supporting 'and o'p'er'atin'g mech*- aiism, iri'clicatl en'erally'a'tZE, an'a'feed dog operating mechanism; noty shown', All of these me cli'anisri's are` lubricated and excess lubricant" thrown' off by 'these' mechanisms, collected' by' means presently to be described.

The' looper actuating shaft'23 isi-driven in a'well kn'o'w'n manner through the medium of a-pairo'ff bevel gears 26e-21. AA third bevel gear 28, that'- meshes with beve1'gear`27, drives an oilpumpf29j;

whichin a known mannensupplies oil through COndlltShSvimiIa" lOrCOIldtS 3l, Sl'and thlOligli unshown ductsitovariousipart's of `tl'iesewing 1na'Y chine much' in",thefsame'manneras disclosed'ir" patentlnuenm, issued; March 2a; 1944-.'-

The mechanisms" of the sewing" machine, sei" curedto thebase' H and' located supporting platel 2,` are'enclosed an'oil-pan 4l' havingvertical end-walls 42 and 4 3, j'vertical front" aiidr'ar'wall's 44 and-45', respectively, aswell'asa bottom" wall Comprising three Separate portions, viz' a' lower-most li'oiio'n'tal bottoni` portion 46,.

bemw' nie work- The` bottom' portioncomprisesa' bed" or base Preferably a portion ofthe 3 46, together with portions of the front and back walls 44-45, end wall 43 and an intermediate vertical wall 49 forms an oil reservoir 5I from which the pump 29 draws oil. The inclined portion 4"! is bounded by a partition or vertical wall 52 and portions of the front and back walls 44 and 45. The elevated portion 48 of the oil pan 4l is located or elevated above the uppermost end of the inclined bottom wall 41 and is bounded on three sides by portions of walls 4:1-45 and 42 and on the fourth side is bounded by a vertical partition or wall 53 which is parallel to and spaced from the wall 52, thereby forming between the walls 52 and 53 an upwardly open channel i4 for receiving a cork gasket 56. The cork gasket 55 also extends in channels formed parallel to portions of walls 44, 445 above locations where they bound the bottom walls 46 and 41.

The corner (Fig. 2) between the front wall 44 and the end wall 42 is bridged by a bevel Wall 51, and the corner between the rear wall 45 and the end wall 42 is likewise bridged by a bevel wall 51. Protruding from the inner surface of each of these bevel walls, are two vertically extending ribs, each rib being designated 58. l

The upper surface of the horizontal 'bottom wall 48 forms the bottom of an oil drip and equipment enclosing cavity 59 having sides deiined bya portion of the front wall 44, the bevel wall 51, the end wall 42, the bevel wall 51', the rear wall 45 and by the partition wall 53. The vertical partition wall 53 (Fig. 4) is of particular interest because its upper edge is irregular in form, having a relatively shallow cut Gi and a deeper cut B2, these cuts providing clearance for various parts oi the mechanism carried by andV depending from the sewing machine bed Il.

The partition walls 52 and 53 each have deep notches which are connected (Fig. 5) by a passageway 63 having a curved bottom 54 of which the lowermost part is collinear with the upper surface of the bottom wall 48 of the oil drip Icavity 59. ihas (Fig. 2) two fenced'cavities and B6 for :receiving sewing machine leg members, not shown The bottom Wall 48 of the cavity 59 fin the drawings, but which depend from the sewting machine base H. The bottom wall 48 also '.has a pair of spaced fencedV cavities B1 and 61 for receiving short lengths 58 of cork gasket material similar .to the gasket 5B hereinbefore-described. A pairof opstanding bosses 69 and 65', each of which would be rectangular in form, except that one end of each is curved, as best seen in Fig. 2, rise above the bottom wallV 48. Each boss B9 and 59' has an additional upstanding curved lug portion shown respectively at 1i and 1I'.

A substantially oval oil wick 12 parallels the periphery of the oil drip cavity 59. The oval wick 12, with the longest axis of the oval vertical, is heldin place adjacent the boundaries ofA the cavity59 by a plurality of comparatively thin lugs 13 and by the curved lug portions 1l and 1i'. The lugs 13, as Well as thecurved portions 1I-1l' rise above theupper surface of the wall 48 a distance that is approximately one-half of the horizontal length of the lugs 13.

Two ends 14 and 14 of the oil wick 12 extend horizontally from the bottom of the cavity 59,

through the curved bottom 54 ofthe passagewayY 63 and drop (Fig. 1) from the level of the upper surface ofthe bottom wall '48 to the level of the uppermost end of the inclined bottomwall 41. The wick ends 14 and 14 are of such size that they eiectlvely close the curved bottom` vof the 4 passageway 63, thereby preventing free flow of oil from the cavity 53 to the inclined bottom wall 41 and eventually to the reservoir 5l. However, the wick by capillary attraction will convey oil that collects in the cavity 5S to the inclined bottom wall 41, and in so conveying the oil, the wick 12 acts as an effective iilter to prevent lint and other dirt from passing from the cavity 59 to the reservoir 5 l.

Both side faces of the passageway E3 (Fig. 5) are channeled as at 165-16', and bases 11-11' of these channels are spaced (Fig. 3) a short distance below the uncompressed height of the wick ends 14 and 14' above the curved bottom 64. The bases 11--11 provide abutments against which the lower edges of the lower face of a small cubical felt block 18 abut. The central portion of the lower face of the block 18 rests on top of the wick ends 14-14', and the cork gasket 56 passes over the upper face of the block 18. As indicated by numeral 19 (Fig. l), the bed Il rests on, and thereby depresses a reduced section of the gasket 55 into rm engagement with the block 18, which in turn presses the ends 14-14 of the wick 12 downwardly against the bottom 64 of the passageway @3. The channels 16-18 limit the felt block 18 to vertical movement and the bases 11 of the channels 16 determine the maximum compressing force that may be applied to the wick ends 14--14 by the bed Il.

The path of the oil wick may now be traced (Fig. 2) as follows: One end 14 of the wick 12 protrudes through the passageway 63 and rests on the upper side of the elevated end of the inclined bottom wall d1; it being noted that this upper end is depressed below the bottom 64.

From the passageway 63 and the end 14, thev wick 12 extends into the cavty 59 past theA to the front wall 44,vv adjacent but spaced from the bevel wall corner fenced cavity 51, parallel 51, parallel to the end wall 42, adjacent but spaced from the second bevel wall 51', then for a short distance in contact with the rear wall 45. around the second fenced leg cavity from whence it jumps to a position adjacent the second fenced cavity 61', thence parallel to the partition wall 53, through the passageway 63, -where the second end of the wick is designated as 14'. At frequent intervals within the cavity 59,Y the ywick 12 is held in position against side and otherwalls by the plurality of lugs 13 places the wick 12 is spaced from the bevel-wall corners 51 and 51 by the ribs 58 and held in position against these ribs Thus there is provided an inexpensive,

and inv other ficient means for collecting excess oil that may be thrown olf from parts of a sewing machine,

conveying the oil from the cavity in which it was originally deposited and at the same time ilterg ing and purifying the oil.

1n the event that the wick 12 becomes' clogged@ it can easily be removed and cleanedor replaced by a new wick, thus returning the oilconveying and iiltering equipment of the sewing Amachine to its original state of high eiiciency.

Having thus set forth the naturerof the 'invention, what I claim herein is:

1. In a sewing machine having a bed 'with sewing instrumentalities below said bed; an Voil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed and said sewing instrumentalities, said oil pan having lan cavity, the latter being separated from and having all parts thereoilreservoir andan oil drip of elevated above said reservoir, and said oil drip cavity receiving oil from said sewing instrumen-- by the curved lugs 1l. 1 and eitalities; and an oil wick of which one portion is positioned in said elevated oil drip cavity, and of which another portion depends below 'said oil drip cavity and extends toward said reservoir.

2. In a sewing machine having a bed, sewing instrumentalities below said bed, and lubricating means for lubricating said sewing instrumentalities, an oil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed, said sewing instrumentalities, and said lubricating means, said oil pan having an oil reservoir, and an oil drip cavity, the latter having all parts thereof elevated above the level of said reservoir; a wall formed integral with said oil pan and having a passageway, said wall separating said oil drip cavity from said reservoir; and an oil wick of which the main body portion is positioned in said elevated oil drip cavity and of which the ends extend through said passageway and depend toward said oil reservoir.

3. In a sewing machine having a bed, sewing instrumentalities below said bed, and lubr1cating means for lubricating said sewing instrumentalities; an oil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed, said sewing instrumentalities, and said lubricating means, said oil pan having an oil reservoir, and an oil drip cavity, the latter having all parts elevated above the level of said reservoir; a wall formed integral with said oil pan and having a passageway, said wall separating said oil drip cavity from said reservoir; and an oil conducting and oil ltering wick of which the main body portion is positioned in said elevated oil drip cavity and of which the ends extend through said passageway and depend toward said oil reservoir, the size of said passageway and the size of said oil wick being such that the ends of said oil wick ll the lower end of said passageway, thereby preventing free flow of oil from said drip cavity to said reservoir.

4. In a sewing machine having a bed, sewing instrumentalities below said bed, and lubricating means for lubricating said sewing instrumentalities; an oil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed, said sewing instrumentalities, and said lubricating means, said oil pan having an oil reservoir, and an oil drip cavity, the latter being elevated above the level of said reservoir; a wall formed integral with said oil pan and having a passageway, said wall separating said oil drip cavity from said reservoir; an oil wick of which the main body portion is positioned in said oil drip cavity and of which the ends extend through said passageway and depend toward said oil reservoir; a block positioned in said passageway and pressing on the ends of said oil wick; and means for urging said block downwardly.

5. In a sewing machine having a bed, sewing instrumentalities below said bed, and lubricating means for lubricating said sewing instrumentalities; an oil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed, said sewing instrumentalities, and said lubricating means, said oil pan having an oil reservoir, and an oil drip cavity, the latter being elevated above the level of said reservoir; a wall formed integral with said oil pan and having a passageway, said wall separating said oil drip cavity from said reservoir and providing a pair of vertically extending channels adjacent said passageway; an oil wick of which the main body portion is positioned in said oil drip cavity and-'of which the ends extend through said passageway and depend toward said oil reservoir; a cubical block slidably held by said channels and pressing on the ends of said oil wick; a gasket member pressing on said cubical block, and means for urging said gasket downwardly.

6. In a sewing machine having a bed, sewing instrumentalities below said bed, and lubricating means for lubricating said sewing instrumentalities; an oil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed, said sewing instrumentalities, and said lubricating means, said oil pan having an oil reservoir, and an oil drip cavity, the latter being elevated above the level of said reservoir; a horizontally extending bottom wall formed integral with said oil pan and defining the bottom of said oil drip cavity; a plurality of vertical wall members formed integral with said oil pan and deiining the sides of said oil drip cavity, one of said wall members having a passageway; an oil conducting and oil filtering wick of which the main body portion is positioned in said oil drip cavity and of which the ends extend through said passageway; and a plurality of lugs upstanding from said horizontally extending bottom wall, said lugs holding said oil Wick adjacent said wall members.

7. In a sewing machine having a bed, sewing instrumentalities below said bed, and lubricating means for lubricating said sewing instrumentalities; an oil pan enclosing the bottom of said bed, said sewing instrumentalities, and said lubricating means, said oil pan having an oil reservoir and an oil drip cavity, the latter being elevated above the level of said reservoir; a horizontally extending wall formed integral with said oil pan and defining the bottom of said oil drip cavity; a plurality of vertical wall members formed integral with said oil pan and dening the sides of said oil drip cavity, one of said wall members forming a partition between said oil drip cavity and said reservoir, said partition wall having a passageway and providing a pair of vertically extending channels adjacent said passageway; wick of which the main body portion is positioned in said drip cavity and of which the ends extend through said passageway and depend toward said reservoir; bases formed at the lower ends of said channels, said bases being slightly below the top of the ends of said wick as they pass through said passageway; a cubical block slidably held by said channels and pressing on the ends of said oil wick; a gasket member pressing on said cubical block; and means for urging said gasket member downwardly.

WILBUR J. PEETS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number an oil conducting and filtering.. 

